Travelodge

Travelodge hotels certainly dont market themselves on luxury, which is just as well. They market themselves on budget, affordable stays which in my opinion they do very well.

I have stayed in more travelodges than I care to remember, and they are not all the same in service, cleanliness, and ammentities offered but they do all follow the same basic design.

When you arrive at your travelodge you will be greeted with hopefully a car park. Not all travelodges have a car park though, but there is always one somewhere down the road usually. A travelodge car park can either be free or upto £10 a night, so it's really worth making sure you have some change for the machine. I would advise you to leave the bags in the car if you have travelled by car and get checked in first. Some travelodges receptions are up a floor or two such as Preston and Lancaster so it saves dragging your bags around. Once at the desk you will give your name, first line of your address and your postcode. There is some travelodges, especially ones in London, which have self-check in, but these are both timely and confusing, but may be worth it if your stuck in a big que. Check in is 2 or 3pm but 3pm is the standard. Travelodge will not let you in before this unless you have bought early check in which I think is 12, and this costs £10. This is not offered by all,but the main ones do. You will then be given a key card or key in really old fashioned ones (Wallsall for instance) or two depending on your party size, and make your way up to your room. There is always a lift available for disabled people. You will be greeted with a clean, simple room. Inside will be a double bed in a double room or a sofa bed style thing aswell in a family room, tea/coffee making facilities, a clean and basic toilet and shower or shower over bath facilities and a usually flat screen TV with freeview. Travelodge is a base hotel I say, nothing else. If you want a hotel where you can have a sit down in reception, pop for a drink in their bar and make the hotel the centre point of your stay this really isn't it. Travelodges vary whether they have a cafe but they will mostly always have a bar which will at least provide a pizza and drinks. There is vending machines which contrain snacks and overnight essentials.

Food&Drink

Travelodge has on its menus things such as burgers,pizza, lasagne, curry and sharing platas amongst things for children. As I never travel with children I can't really comment on this, though i know chicken nuggets and ice cream are available! In the morning if you choose to have breakfast you will have a buffet style selection , full English and a continental selection. In smaller travelodges they only offer a fruit bag and a croissant in the mornings, but it will say when booking. Alcohol is expensive in the travelodge,but I find food reasonably priced. The breakfast at 7.99 PP isn't worth it, especially if you are In a city centre and can go to a local cafe in the morning or something. One final note about food and drink is its perfectly acceptable to go outside for food and bring it back to your room, whether it be KFC,Subway,Mcds it is all allowed so you don't have to feel like if you want to stay in you have to pay their prices.

Travelodge Experience

Every travelodge is different in the experience you will find. If you want a guaranteed nights sleep, no matter what the adverts may suggest, don't come to a Travelodge - especially at a weekend. Many people use travelodge as a cheap base for a night out, so at 2-4am the noise is incredible. Banging on doors, hearing sex and foul language has all been experienced. However, this is 8/10 at a weekend and to be expected with it being a budget hotel. No management will ever do anything about it so please don't waste your time asking them.

Booking process

Well I find the booking process incredibly easy, the easiest booking of hotels I've ever found anywhere. You type your destination hotel in and it will tell you the price for that night, and the next 5 nearest so you can compare if it's cheaper just being a bit out of where you originally thought. Price of a travelodge can range from £15 in a sale (if you sign up their email newsletter you will know when they start) to a good £100 a night. The £100 is usually if an event is going on, say final at Wembley and you are booking Travelodge Wembley or at New Year and Christmas. It is very rare so don't let that put you off. The average room price I would say is £35 that is per room per night not per person. The earlier you book the better, as its cheaper, and i get most of my stays for £19-30. You have the option of fully flexible which is usually more, or fixed. I always go with fixed as its usually that lower of a price if you cant make it you havent lost much. One other note is that if you cant make it you can list your stay on Ebay, as this is fine and you will usually get at least a 1/3rd of what you'd pay. Anyway, a few clicks later and you will find an email confirmation sent to your email address. You do not need to print this off, it's just for confirmation.

Service

You will usually get good customer service and they will give you the attention you need. Some travelodges can have the odd rude member of staff but tell me somewhere that doesn't have the odd member that is like that. You will have a nice clean service, but at check in the cleaners can usually be seen still running around. They seem over worked and many are eEastern Europeans. wifi is available in most travelodges, the bar area offers free wifi.

Best travelodges in my opinion:

• Carlisle - for stays travelling around S.Scotland and the borders and also easy access to the Lake District. Very easy to get too and very good public transport links.
• Ealing - brand new travelodge in London, a short walk away from the tube station and is usually one of the cheapest in London but one of the nicest and quietest areas I believe.
• Blackpool North and South Shore - very well looked after travelodges, considering how busy they are they are all very clean and quality staff. Rooms are nice and if you are lucky some lovely views. South shore is right next to Blackpool FC so handy for that and a short walk until you are next to the tower!
• Newcastle City- a noisy travelodge at the weekend as you would expect, but it's possibly the best located travelodge I've ever stayed in. Right on the quayside,you have some lovely walking areas, and anybody who knows Newcastle will know that Quayside is just a short walk from the city centre and on the Quayside is some great eating areas and social areas.

Check in: 2 or 3
Check out: 11 or 12
Average prices: £30-£40
Location: Everywhere!

Summary

Great budget hotels, Good for business and great for a night out. If you are with a family looking to spend a lot of time here at the weekend maybe not the best, other than that well worth a visit